This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119(a) on Patent Application No. 2001-094367 filed in Japan on Mar. 28, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rear structure of a vehicle suitable for improving maintenance of a rear combination lamp and slimming up of the rear portion of the vehicle.
2. Description of Background Art
A vehicle rear structure having a rear combination lamp disposed at the rear of the storage box of the vehicle such as a motorcycle, for example, a structure having a lamp 70 mounted on the outer wall 54a of the rear portion of the storage box 50 with a plurality of screws is shown in FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent Laid Open No.203449/1998 xe2x80x9cLAMP MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR THE REAR OF VEHICLESxe2x80x9d (the following reference numerals are quoted from the aforementioned patent publication, hereinafter).
When a lamp 70 is mounted on the outer wall 54a of the rear portion of the storage box 50, the lamp 70 must be removed from the storage box 50 when replacing the bulb of the lamp 70. In addition, when a structure in which the bulb is attached and detached from the space between the storage box 50 and the lamp 70 is employed, a significantly large space for inserting a hand must be provided between the storage box 50 and the lamp 70.
In order to remove the lamp 70 from the storage box 50, a plurality of screws have to be loosened, and thus it takes a lot of time for removal. When a large space is provided between the storage box 50 and the lamp 70, for example, in the case where a storage box upsized for improving storing capability and a lamp upsized for improving visibility are disposed at the rear of the vehicle, the aforementioned large space may increase the size or the length of the rear portion of the vehicle, which may influence on upsizing or appearance of the vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to improve maintenance of the lamp at the rear of the vehicle and to slim up of the rear portion of the vehicle by improving the vehicle rear structure.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the invention according to a first aspect is a vehicle rear structure in which a storage box is disposed below the hinged seat, and a rear combination lamp is disposed at the rear of the storage box, wherein the rear combination lamp is set closer to the storage box by providing a pair of left and right bulbs on the rear combination lamp, forming left and right access openings for performing maintenance of the bulbs on the storage box, and closing the access openings with lids.
Providing left and right access opening for maintenance of the bulb on the storage box facilitates maintenance work such as replacement of the bulb or the like from the inside of the storage box, and enables the rear combination lamp to be set closer to the storage box, so that even when a large rear combination lamp is disposed at the rear of a large storage box, a compact design of the rear portion of the vehicle is realized.
The present invention according to a second aspect includes the lamp axis passing through the center of the bulb being inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body.
By employing a structure in which the lamp axis is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body, for example, the lamp axis can be inclined in the direction that facilitates maintenance of the bulb through the access opening.
The present invention according to a third aspect includes the left and right lamp axes are directed so as to fan out toward the front.
By directing the left and right lamp axes so as to fan out toward the front, a large massed space can be reserved between the left and right bulbs of the rear combination lamp, and thus the storage box can be extended toward the rear, so that the volume of the storage box may be increased.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.